4. Creating Power Plans
In addition to the preferred power plans included with Windows 8, you can create power plans as needed. To create a power plan, follow these steps:
-
In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click Power Options. -
In the left pane, tap or click Create A Power Plan. This displays the Create A Power Plan page, as shown in Figure 4.
-
To prepopulate the power plan settings, select the preferred power plan that is closest to the type of plan you want to create. -
In the Plan Name text box, type a descriptive name for the plan, and
then tap or click Next. This displays the Edit Plan Settings page. -
For laptops and tablets, use the Dim The Display list to specify
whether and when the computer’s display is dimmed. Choose Never to
disable this feature. -
Use the Turn Off The Display list to specify whether or when the
computer’s display automatically turns off. Choose Never to disable this
feature. -
Use the Put The Computer To Sleep list to specify whether or when the
computer automatically enters sleep mode. Choose Never to disable this
feature. -
Tap or click Create to create the plan. The Power Options page is
displayed with updates to include the plan you created as a new
preferred plan that replaces the plan you selected previously. You’ll
find the original preferred plan under Show Additional Plans. Tap or
click the Expand button on the right to display the original plan. -
The plan you created is selected by default. Tap or click Change Plan
Settings for this plan to display the Edit Plan Settings page, and then
tap or click Change Advanced Power Settings to display the Power
Options dialog box. -
After you configure the advanced power options as appropriate, tap or click OK to save any changes you’ve made.
You can access Group Policy and use a preference item to create power plans on computers throughout a domain by completing the following steps:
-
Open a Group Policy Object for editing in the Group Policy Management
Editor. To configure preferences for computers, expand Computer
Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings, and then select Power
Options. To configure preferences for users, expand User
Configuration\Preferences\Control Panel Settings, and then select Power Options. -
Press and hold or right-click the Power Options node, point to New, and then select Power Plan (Windows Vista And Later). This opens the New Power Plan Properties dialog box. -
From the Action list, select Create. To prepopulate the power plan
settings, select the preferred power plan that is closest to the type of
plan you want to create. After you choose a plan, tap or click in the
selection list and then type the name of the new plan. -
From the selection list, choose the power plan you want to work with, such as Balanced. -
To set the plan as the active plan, select the Set As The Active Power Plan check box. -
Use the options provided to configure the settings for the power plan. -
Tap or click OK. The next time policy is refreshed, the preference
item will be applied as appropriate for the Group Policy Object in which
you defined the preference item.
5. Configuring Systemwide Power Button and Password Protection on Wakeup Settings
Systemwide settings for power options enable you to customize the way
that the power button and password protection on wake works for all
users who log on to the computer. You can configure the power button so
that when it is pressed, the system shuts down, hibernates, or enters
sleep mode. You can configure the computer so that when it wakes from
sleep, a password is required to unlock the screen.
To set systemwide power settings, follow these steps:
-
In Control Panel, tap or click System And Security, and then tap or click Power Options. -
In the left pane, tap or click Choose What The Power Buttons Do. -
Use the When I Press The Power Button list to specify whether the
computer should do nothing, shut down, sleep, or hibernate when the
power button is pressed. You cannot, however, use an option that is not
supported by the computer. -
Use the When I Press The Sleep Button list to specify whether the
computer should sleep, hibernate, or do nothing when the sleep button is
pressed. Again, you cannot use an option that is not supported by the
computer. -
If available, use the When I Close the Lid list to specify whether
the computer should sleep, hibernate, or do nothing when the computer
lid is closed. Again, you cannot use an option that is not supported by
the computer. -
If the options for Password Protection On Wakeup and Shutdown
Settings are not available, you need to tap or click the Change Settings
That Are Currently Unavailable link. -
Use the Require A Password option to specify that the computer
requires a password on wakeup. It is a good idea to prompt for a
password to help ensure the security of the system. -
Select Turn On Fast Startup to save system information to a file on
the system disk when you shut down the computer. This file is then read
during boot to enable faster startup. When you restart the computer,
Fast Startup is not used. -
Select the Power options that you want displayed when you click the power button. -
Tap or click Save Changes when you have finished making changes.
6. Managing Power Options in Policy Settings
In Group Policy, you’ll find policy settings for managing power options in the Administrative Templates for Computer Configuration under System\Power Management. Five subnodes are provided:
-
Button Settings Includes policies for setting plugged-in and on-battery actions for the power
button, the sleep button, and the laptop lid. This also controls the
way the power button works on the Tasks screen, which is displayed by
pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete. -
Hard Disk Settings Includes policies for setting plugged-in and on-battery actions for turning off the hard disks. -
Notification Settings Includes policies for controlling notifications and actions for adverse battery conditions. -
Sleep Settings Includes policies for setting permitted device and application sleep states. -
Video And Display Settings
Includes policies for setting plugged-in and on-battery actions for the
display, the display brightness, and desktop background slide shows.
To apply a policy setting, enable the policy, and then select the appropriate action.
Through Group Policy, you can also specify an active power plan. How
you work with Power Management policies depends on whether you want to
use a default power plan, an updated preferred plan, or a custom power
plan that you’ve created. If you want all computers that process a
particular policy to use one of the Windows 8 default power plans, follow these steps:
-
After you open the Group Policy
Object that you want to work with for editing, expand Administrative
Templates policies for Computer Configuration under System\Power Management. -
Double-tap or double-click Select An Active Power Plan. -
Select Enabled, and then use the Active Power Plan list to select the
plan to use. The options are High Performance, Power Saver, and
Automatic. If you choose Automatic, Windows 8 uses the Balanced power
plan in most cases. -
Tap or click OK.
If you want all computers that process a particular policy to use an
updated preferred plan or a custom power plan that you’ve created,
follow these steps:
-
After you open the Group Policy Object that you want to edit, expand
Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Power Management. -
Double-tap or double-click Specify A Custom Active Power Plan. -
Select Enabled. In the Custom Active Power Plan (GUID) text box, type the GUID of the power plan to use. -
Tap or click OK.
Tip
To determine the GUID of a power plan, get a list of the power plans configured on a computer by typing powercfg –l at an elevated command prompt.
7. Using Alarms and Configuring Alarm Actions
Alarms determine
whether a laptop sounds an alarm or displays a warning message when its
battery reaches a certain level. You can configure three levels of
alarms and notifications for laptops:
-
Low Battery Alarm
The Low
Battery Alarm is meant to alert the user when the battery power level
is nearly depleted. The low-power state is activated by default when the
battery has 10 percent or less power remaining. On a battery with 8
hours of useful life, 10 percent is about 48 minutes of use. -
Critical Battery Alarm
The Critical Battery Alarm is meant to alert the user when the battery
is about to fail. The critical-power state is activated by default when
the battery has 3 percent or less power remaining. On a battery with 8
hours of useful life, 3 percent is about 14 minutes of use. -
Reserve Battery Alarm
The Reserve Battery Alarm is meant to alert the user when the battery
is using reserve power. The reserve-power state is activated by default
when the battery has 1 percent or less power remaining. On a battery
with 8 hours of useful life, 1 percent is about 5 minutes of use.
An alarm action associated with low and critical alarms enables you
to dictate what specific actions the operating system should take when
the alarm level is reached. Possible actions include shutting down the
computer, entering sleep mode, or entering hibernate mode. Starting with
Windows Vista, you could turn off low-battery notifications by enabling
the Turn Off Low Battery User Notification policy. In Windows 8, the
reserve battery alert was added to notify users that batteries were
running on reserve power. Because there are different considerations for
configuring the alert levels, I’ll examine each separately in the
sections that follow.
Configuring Low-Battery Notification and Actions
As stated previously, the low-battery notification is a warning that the system is getting low
on power. When entering the low-power state, the system notifies the
user with either a text prompt alone or a text prompt and an audible
alarm. In some cases, you might want to configure the computer to go a
step further and enter standby mode in addition to, or instead of,
giving a warning.
To configure the low-battery notification and actions, follow these steps:
-
After you open the Group Policy Object that you want to work with for
editing, expand Administrative Templates policies for Computer
Configuration under System\Power Management\Notification Settings. -
To set the low-battery notification action, double-tap or double-click Low
Battery Notification Action. Select Enabled, and then use the Low
Battery Notification Action list to select the action, such as Sleep.
Tap or click OK. -
To specify when the low-battery alarm is triggered, double-tap or
double-click Low Battery Notification Level. Select Enabled, and then
use the Low Battery Notification Level combo box to set the appropriate
alarm level. Tap or click OK.
Tip
The default low-battery alarm level is based on the total battery
life and typically is 10 percent. On most systems, this is an
appropriate value. However, I’ve found that on some systems, especially
those with poor batteries, this isn’t enough, and I increase the level
to between 12 and 15 percent. In contrast, on energy-efficient systems
or those with two batteries, the default value is often too much. Here, I
adjust the level so that the user is notified when about 20 minutes of
battery power remains.
Configuring Critical-Battery Alarms
Critical-battery alarms
are designed to ensure that systems enter an appropriate mode prior to
running out of power. When entering a critical-power state, the system
notifies the user and then enters sleep mode. In sleep mode, the
computer’s power-manageable components shut off to conserve power. I
often configure the low-power alarm so that the computer enters sleep
mode. I then configure the critical-battery alarm to have the computer
enter hibernation mode or shut down. This takes power management to the
next level and helps preserve the system before power is completely
exhausted.
To configure the critical-battery actions, follow these steps:
-
After you open the Group Policy Object that you want to work with for
editing, expand Administrative Templates policies for Computer
Configuration under System\Power Management\Notification Settings. -
To set the critical-battery notification action, double-tap or double-click Critical Battery
Notification Action. Select Enabled, and then use the Critical Battery
Notification Action list to select the action, such as Hibernate or Shut
Down. Tap or click OK. -
To specify when the critical-battery alarm is triggered, double-tap
or double-click Critical Battery Notification Level. Select Enabled, and
then use the Critical Battery Notification Level combo box to set the
appropriate alarm level. Tap or click OK.
Tip
The default critical-alarm level is based on the total battery life
and typically is 3 percent. In most cases, this value is appropriate.
However, if you plan for the computer to go into hibernation or shut
down, you might want to reduce this value. You also want to take into
account the battery life. If a computer has a long battery life, the
default typically is too high, but if a computer has a short battery
life, it might not be high enough. I usually set the critical-power
alarm so that the alarm action is triggered when there are 6 to 8
minutes of power remaining.
Configuring Reserve-Power Mode
Reserve-power mode is designed to notify users that the battery is
operating on reserve power. To configure reserve-battery notification,
follow these steps:
-
After you open the Group Policy Object that you want to edit, expand
Administrative Templates policies for Computer Configuration under
System\Power Management\Notification Settings. -
To specify when the reserve-battery alarm is
triggered, double-tap or double-click Reserve Battery Notification
Level. Select Enabled, and then use the Reserve Battery Notification
Level combo box to set the appropriate alarm level. Tap or click OK.
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